Machine with drive means



May 23, 1961 INVENTOR NOR/VAN WILSON WW J 6% TroRNEY May 23, 1961 N. A. wlLsoN 2985267 MACHINE WITH DRIVE MEANS Filed 561312. 4, 1956 2 Shee'S-Sheet 2 NORMA/V WILSON 'TTORNEY En O NT.. V w NN W. z O & W. `N` m= H m9 w 7/ m9 q' United States Patent Oce ,985,267 Patented May 23, 1961 MACHINE WITH DRIVE MEANS Norman A. Wilson, Westborough, Mass., assignor to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 4, 1956, Ser. No. 607,896

4 Claims. (Cl. 192-.09)

This invention relates to a machine with dri've means and more particularly to apparatus such as a Wire drawing Vmachine for the attenuation of elongated metal rods.

In the reduction and elongation of Wire by the drawing process, it is common practice to use a continuous Wire drawing machine wherein the Wire passes from one drum or block to another and through dies situated between the blocks. If the machine is not of the type wherein the Wire accumulates on certain of the blocks, it is necessary to regulate accurately the speed of each block in the series to compensate for the fact that the Wire gets longer With each reduction. One Way in which this is accomplished is by the use of auxiliary rolls, known as 'dancer rolls, around which the wire passes, these rolls being operative to compensate for speed Variation. In the absence of such speed compensation, a straight-through machine must be operated With .back-pull and it then 'becomes important to control very accurately the torque available at each block. Several schemes have been suggested in the past for such control of torque. For instance, in the patent to Morgan et al. No. 2,185 ,416 it was suggested that a fiuid pump be used as a clutch and the torque transmitted to each block be controlled by regul'ating the pressure differential across the pump. The patent to Hitchcock et al. No. 2,699,864 taught the torque relationship that must eXist in a practical machine of this type. However, diificulties have presented themselves in the operation of hydraulic Wire drawing machines that were not contemplated by the prior art. For instance, despite careful regulation of torque transmittal to the blocks, Wire breakage has occurred during normal draWin-g. Also, there has been a tendency for the 'wire to break when the operator attempts to stop the machine. These and other difficiencies of previously-known devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

'It is therefore an outstanding object of the invention to provide a hydraulic wire drawing machine in which wire breakage is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a machine for Wire drawing which has a novel means of transmitting torque to the blocks, which means reduces breakage of the Wire during acceleration, during normal operation, and during rapid deceleration.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a machine in which the magnitude of torque pulsations transmitted is reduced -to a minimum.A

A still further object 'of the instant invention is the provision of a machine having driven drums in which all drums begin to `decelerate at the same time and in which means is provided for a range of braking torques considerably different from the range of torques transmitted to each drum during normal operation.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The Character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to certain of its structural forms,

as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a somewhat schematic view of certain transmission apparatus associated with the machine of the invention,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of. a fiuid clutch forming |a part of the machine, the view being taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 3,

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of the clutch, the view being taken on the line V-V of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a somewhat schematic view, with portions broken away, of a portion of the transmission apparatus.

Figure 1 shows the arrangement provided for the transmission of power to the drums or blocks of -a machine which may be a Wire drawing machine and the apparatus which controls that transmission. For the sake of illustration, a block 39 is shown and the torque transmitted to it is controlled from a panel 47. An electric motor 49 provides the power to drive vall the blocks in the machine and it does this through its connection to a longitudinal main drive shaft 51. `The motor is provided with a dynamic braking arr'angement 'which is part of the uual electrical control, not shown. This shaft is divided into removable Sections each associated with a block, the Sections being normally connected by couplings 52. A fiuid clutch 53 is mounted on the shaft and conssts of an inp'ut porti'on which is fixed to the shaft and an output portion 54 which is connected to the block 39. The clutch 53 is, in essence, a pump of the type shown and described in the patent to Vickers No. l,989,900. The outp-ut portion has a small pinion gear 55 keyed to it, the gear forming part of a speed reduction unit. The gear meshes with a considerably larger gear 56 constituting part of the speed reduction unit and keyed to 'a longitudinal jack shaft 57 so that a speed reduction of some magnitude is obtained. The shaft 57 is suit-ably mounted for rotation in bearings 58 and 59 and is provided at one 'end with a small bevel gear 61. This bevel gear meshes with a considerably larger bevel gear 62 for -a large speed reduction. The gear '62 is keyed to a transverse horizontal shaft 63 which shaft carries the block 39 at its outer end. The shaft 63 is rotatably mounted in bearings 64 and 65.

The fiuid clutch 53 is provided w-ith bearing sleeves 66 and 67 which also function to provide for the introduction and removal of hydraulic fiuid. A supercharging line 68, to which hydraulic fiuid under -a small degree of pressure is introduced from a pump, not shown, is connected by a conduit 69 through a check valve 71 to the sleeve 67 of the clutch. The check valve is operative to permit the fiow of fiuid only from the line 68 to the sleeve 67, but not in the reverse direction. The sleeve 66 is connected by a conduit 72 through a check valve 74 to the input side of the pressure-relief valve 73 mounted on the panel 47; the output side of the va-lve is connected through the medium of a conduit 75 to an exhaust line 76 which, in turn, is connected to an oil reservoir, not shown. The check valve 74 is arranged to permit the fiow of fiuid through the conduit 72 from the sleeve to the valve, but to prevent flow in the other direction. The circuit just descn'bed is shown in full lines in the drawings and represents the fiow line of fiuid during normal operation. The dotted line arrangement represents the path taken by the fiuid during deceleration of the machine. A conduit 77 containing a check valve 78 connects a` position in the conduit 72 between the check valve 74 and the pressure-relief va'lve 73 to a position in the conduit 69 between the check valve 71 and the sleeve 67; the check valve 78 permits fiuid to flow through the conduit 77 from the conduit 69 to the conduit 72, but not in the opposite direction. A conduit 79 containing a check valve 81 joins the conduit 72 at a point between the sleeve 66 and the check valve 74 to mit the regulation of the pressurediiferential across the clutch.

Referring now to Figures-2 and 3, which show the details of construction of the clutch 53, it can be seen that the clutch consists generally of the output portion 54 which is connected through the gear 55 to the block 39 and the input portion 83 which is fixed to the main drive shaft 51. The input portion consists of a generally cylindrical hub 84 having a series of equally spaced radial slots 85 in each of which is Slidably mounted a platelike. vane 86. The radial faces of the hub are formed with Vannular recesses 87 and 88 which are joined by a number of passages 90 and in which are situated Springs S9 held in place by cap screws 91. The vanes 86 are as long at the hub 84, so they extend into the recesses 87 and 88 and are biased radially outwardly by the Springs. Each spring is formed, as is evident in the drawings, with a central loopl adapted to be engaged by the cap screw 91 and with arms that extend in either direction, each arm contacting the inner edge of one vane. The Springs are bent to lie in an .interwoven relationship so that each vane is contacted by one arm of a spring at each of its ends. A sleeve 92 surrounds the input portion'and is coextensive therewith; the vanes 85 contact the inner surface of the sleeve, which inner surface is slightly eccentric, as can be seen in Figure 3, to provide a positive displacement feature of the clutch. The sleeve forms part of the outputporti'on 54 ofthe clutch and is fixed in anouter sleeve 93. The sleeve 93 is bolted at one end to an inlet body 94 rotatably mounted on the shaft 51 by a bearing 95; the other end of the sleeve is bolted to an outlet body 96, which is rotatably mounted on the Shaft by means of a bearing 97. The sleeve 93 and the bodies 94 and 96Vform a housing that envelopes the input portion of the clutch. Thelinput body 94 has the gear 55 rkeyed.v

to its extreme outer end and ,its intermediate part is mounted in the input sleeve 67 which, in turn, is firmly fastened to a Support, not shown, within the bench 11. A bearing 98 permits the body 94 to rotate within the sleeve. An annular groove 99 extends around the body and an inlet port 101 extends through the sleeve and opens within the groove; the port 101 is, of course, connected to the conduit 69. Suitable Seals are provided on either Side of the vgroove 99 to insure against oil leakage. A passage 102 leads from the groove 99 to the inner surface of the body within the housing. In a similar manner, the outlet body 96 is mounted within the outlet sleeve 66, there being a bearing 103 interposed between the two to provide for relative rotationj The sleeve is fixed to the frame of the bench 11 and has an outlet port 104 extending through it and connected to the conduit 72. A groove 105 is formed in the surface of the body 96 so as. to be open to the port 104 at all times and Sealing means is provided between the sleeve and body on either side of the groove to prevent leakage of hydraulic fluid. A passage 106 extends from the groove to the inner surface of the body 96. Within the outer sleeve 93 and between the two bodies are situated several elements. The hub 04 and the sleeve 92 occupy a portion of this cylindrical chamber. Between the hub and the inlet body 94 is sit- Vuated a valveplate 107 having a notch 108 and a slot' tains acheck ball 113 which is free to move from oneV end of the enlarged portion to the other. A passage '114 extends from the center of the said `enlarged portion toV i anannular groove 115 for-med on the face of the block which en-gageszthe hub 84.. This groove opens throughout` its extent into the groove S7 formed in the hub. Another passage 116 extends through the block in the portion thereof adjacent the slot 109 in the valve plate 107. A fiat disk 117 is located in the Chamber adjacent the body 96 and is provided with the passage 1118. The adjacent portions of the passages 106 and 118 are counterbored to receive a sleeve 119-which extends between the body 96 and Vthe disk 117. Between the-disk 117 and the block 111 is located a spacer ring 1211 whose outer periphery closely contacts the inner surface of the outer sleeve 93 and whose inner edge is well outside the passage-112 and the passages 118 and 116, so that-communication exists between these passages; It should be noted that, while the section taken in the drawings for Figure 2 shows only one inlet passage 102 and its related notch v108 in the plate 107, there is a similar passage and notch located l away. Furthermore, the associated passages 106, 118, 116 and thelslot 109 are duplicated also at a position that is 180` away from that shown. This is because in a device of this kind there are two areas where, duringnormal operation, the vanes are subjected to suction and two areas where the fluid is discharged under pressure; this will be explained more lfullyin connection'with the operation of the app'aratus. However, it should be noted that the peripheral extent of each of the notches 108 is quite large, so that it opens into the entire suction area, while the slots 109extend around the sbaft in an arc thatis sufiicient to cover the pressure'discharge areas.

Figure 4 shows somewhat schematically the details of the panel 47. As has vbeen stated, a pressure relief valve 73 isomounted on the panel and is provided with an adjusting handle 82. A Solenoid-actuated pilot valve 131 is mounted on the panel and has a coil 132 connected to electrical leads 133 and 134. The lead 133 has a switch 135 connected in series therewith and the two leads are connected to a power source, not shown. The switch 135 forms apart of the electrical controls of the motor 49 and is moved into closed position when the operator stops the machine. Another pressure-relief valve 136 is also mounted on the panel and is provided with an adjusting handle 137. A pressure gauge `138 is fastened to the panel. The conduit 72 enters the panel and is connected to theV entrance port 139 of the pilot valve 131. The valve spool is connected to the plunger of the solenoid and moves from a normal position, as shown in the drawing, to a braking position when the coil 132 is energized. When in the normal position, the entrance port is connected to a port 141 which leads to a passage 142 leading to the input side of the valve 136; the output side of the valve is connected through a passage 143 Vto the conduit75 which is connected to the drain conduit 76 when the pilot valverplungerris in "braking position, the. port .139 is connected only to the other port 144. The .port 144 Vof the pilot valve is connected by a passage 145 to the input side of the valve 73, the output side of which is connected to therconduit 75 and to drain. A passage7 146 connects the input, side of the valve 73 to thevgauge 138. The valves 73 and 137 are similar in nature, but are designed for operation at different pressure levels; the function of each, however, is to maintain the upstream pressure at or below a preselectedlevel. The valve 137V is used'for normal operation and opens when the pressure in the passage 142V exceeds a limit, which may be in. the order of 500 p.s.i. whilefthe valve 73 opens when the pressure in the passage 145 exceeds a considerable higherrlimit, such'` as 1000 p.s.i. The value at which' causes it to rotate and to carry the main drive shaft 51 with it. This shaft, in turn, rotates the input portion 83 of each of the clutches 53. Supercharged oil flows from the line 68 through the conduit 69 past the check valve 71 to the port 101 in the sleeve 67. The oil enters the groove 99, flows through the passages 102 and into the suction areas of the clutch; these are the areas in which the wedge between the hub `y84 and the sleeve 92 is on the increase as the hub rotates within the sleeve and these areas are labeled "Suction in Figure 3. The oil wishes to expand in each of the small chambers defined by two vanes and the portions of the hub and sleeve subtended thereby, so the hub rotates slightly faster than the sleeve in order to permit each of the said small chambers 'to expand. After each small chamber has reached its maximum size at the point of greatest eccentricity of the sleeve and the point of greatest throw of the vane, no further expansion takes place and the small chamber is connected to oil discharge. The sm-all chambers begin to decrease in volume, thus discharge the oil under pressure. When passing through the areas labeled '*Pressure in Figure 3, the little chambers are joined by the slots 109 in the plate 107 and have access to the passages 116 in the block 111. Fluid leaves each passage 116 and enters the space between the disk 117 and the block 111 and surrounded by the ring 121; it cannot pass entirely through the passage 112, however, since the pressure oil keeps the ball 113 at the right of the enlarged portion of the passage. So, the fiuid fiows through the passage 118 in the disk 117, the sleeve 119 and the passage 106 to the groove 105. The fiuid exhausts from the groove and the port 104 in the sleeve 66 to the conduit 72. It then follows the conduit and passes through the check valve 74 'and the pilot valve 131. It passes through the passage' 142, the pressure-regulating valve 136 and enters the passage 143 to drain through the conduits 75 and 76 into the reservoir. Durng relative rotation between the hub 84 and the sleeve 92, the vanes are maintained in contact with the inner surface of the sleeve by the springs 89. The pressure oil also passes through the passage 114, the groove S7, the passages 90 and the groove 88 to act on the vanes and press then outwardly.

When the operator wishes to stop the machine he actuates the controls of the motor 49. This closes the switch 135 and energizes the coil 132, thus throwing the pilot valve 131 into the '*braking position. As soon as the motor controls are thrown in stopping condition, dynamic braking of the motor takes place and the motor, the main drive shaft and the inside portion of the clutch it decelerates very rapidly. However, the inertia of the blocks, particularly of the finish block 41, which carries a considerable accumulation of wire, causes each block and its associated elements, such as the outside portion of the clutch, to have a tendency to continue rotation at the same speed. However, soon after the motor starts to decelerate, the output portion, which had previously lagged the input portion by `an amount equal to the normal slip speed, catches up with the input portion and quickly exceeds it in speed of rotation. The instant that the output portion being rotating faster than the input portion, the clutch begins to operate in reverse; the suction areas become the '*pressure areas and vice versa. The ball 113 is moved to the left in the passage 112 and the 5pressure oil continues to act on the vanes to maintain them in their outermost positions. However, in the transition stage, it is the pressure of the Springs 89 that retains the vanes in their outwardly-pressed, operative positions against the inner surface of the sleeve 92. This means that the vanes are ready to operate in the manner of a pump as soon as the relative motion of the clutch portions is reversed. The inertia of the blocks is, thus, transmitted to the motor rwhich, as has 'been stated, which is subject to dynamic braking. The net result is that the entire system is rapidly decelerated.

Since each block has its4 own "braking valve 73, the deceleration rates may be selected so that the blocks will stop together. If, as in previously-known machines, the last blocks of the machine were permitted to coast under the large energy storage of their heavy load of Wire, they would come to a complete stop long after the earlier blocks of the machine; this would result in wire breakage and a resulting long period of non-productive shutdown while the operator re-threads the machine.

Durng a normal drawing operation, the present apparatus provides an unusually smooth transmittal of torque to the blocks. In the past, the use of a hydraulic pump as a clutch in constructions similar to that shown in the Morgan Patent No. 2,\185,416 caused pulsations of torque transmitted to the blocks; the frequency of these pulsations was approximately twice the slip frequency and its magnitude was very large. Since pulsations of large magnitude cause considerable Variation in wire tension, frequent breakage was formerly experienced, particularly when Operating with high values of back-pull. By providing a very considerable gear ratio between the clutch and the block, the frequency of these pulsations has been greatly multiplied and, the magnitude of individual pulsations has 'been reduced to a negligible value.

It should be noted that the same type of hydraulic clutch with spring biased vanes is used on the last block 41 of the machine, this being the block on which the Wire accumulates and which, therefore, has inertia very much greater than the preceding blocks. With the present arrangement, this last or finish block starts to accelerate and decelerate at the same time as the other blocks. Since its deceleration rate is individually controlled by its valve 73, it is possible to transmit a braking torque that is much greater than in the case of the other blocks to compensate for its greater inertia, so that the finish block remains in step with the other blocks and breakage of wire is prevented. It is to be realized that it is also very important at the finish end of the machine to obviate torque pulsations because the Wire is thinnest at this point and it most easily broken.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine having a main frame and having a drum mounted thereon, a motor, a main drive shaft extending longitudinally through the frame and operatively connected to the said motor, a fiuid clutch having an input portion and an output portion, the input portion being connected to the main drive shaft, Va speed-reduction unit having an output portion and an input portion, the output portion being connected to the drum, the output portion of the clutch being connected to the input portion of the said unit, the clutch being in the form of a vane-type fluid motor having vanes which are continuously and positively biased outwardly into operative position, a first relief valve connected to regulate the pressure difierential across the clutch during normal operation, a second pressure relief valve connected to regulate the pressure differential across the clutch during deceleration, and means operable when the machine is to be stopped for changing from one valve to the other.

2. In a machine having av main frame and a drum rotatably mounted on a horizontal axis transversely of the frame, a motor, a main drive shaft extending through the frame and operatively connected to the said motor, a fiuid clutch having an input portion and an output portion, the input portion being connected to the main drive shaft, a speed-reduction unit having an output portion and an input portion, the output portion being connected to the drum, the output portion of the clutch being connected to the input portion of` the unit, the clutch being in the form of a fiuid motor having vanes Vmounted in a cylindrical'rotor for radial` movement, the vanes being continuously and positively biased into operative position, the torque transmitted from the input portion to the output portion of the clutch being determined by the differential fiuid pressure across the clutch, a first valve connected to regulate the said differential during normal operation, the second valve connected to regulate the diferential during deceleration, and automatic means operable to change the regulation of the clutch from the first valve to the second valve at the start of deceleration.

3.' In a machine having a main frame and a drum rotatably mounted from a horizontal aXis extending transversely of the frame, a motor having provision for dynamic` braking, a main drive shaft extending longitudinally through the frame and operatively connected to the said motor, a fluid clutch having an input portion and an output portion, the input portion being a cylindrical rotor connected in line With the main drive shaft, the output portion having an eccentric bore within which resides the input portion, a speed-reduction unit having an input portion and an output portion, the output portion being connected to the drum, the output portion of the clutch being connected to the input portion of the said unit, the clutch being in the form of a fiuid motor having vanes mounted in a radial slots in the cylindrical rotor for radial movement to contact With the eccentric bore of the output member, the vanes being'continuously and resilently biased by springs into operative position so as to contact the bore of the output member, the torque transmitted from the input portion to the output portion of the clutch being determined by the diferential in the fiuid pressure across the clutch, a first valve connected to regulate the said diflerential during normal operation, a second valve connected to regulate the ditferential during deceleration, and automatic means operable to change the regulation of the clutch from the first valve to the second valve at the start of deceleration.

4. In a machine having a main frame and a drum rotatably mounted on'the frame, a motor having provision for dynamic braking., a main drive'shaft extending through the frame, and operatively connected to the said motor, a fiuid clutchhavingan input portion and an output portion, the input portion being connected to the main drive shaft, a speed-reduction unit connected between the output portion of the clutch and the drum, the clutch being in the form of a fiuid motor having vanes mounted for radial movement, the vanes being continuously biased into operat'ive position, the torque transmitted from the input portion to the output portion of the clutch being deterrnined by the differential in fiuid pressure across the clutch, a first valve connected to regulate the said difi'erential during normal operation, a second valve connected to regulate the differential during deceleration, and automatic means operable to change the regulation of the clutch from the first valve to the second valve at the start of deceleration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PAIENTS 406,030 Daniels July 2, 1889 420,303 Limont Jan. 28, 1890 799,102 Sparks Sept. 12, 1905 802,688 Harding Oct. 24, 1905 2,370,481 Morgan Feb. 27, 1945 2380,445 Johnson et al July 31, 1945 2,409,995 Morton Oct. 22, 1946 2,679,306 Hartmann May 25, 1954 2,699,864 Hitchcock et al Ian. 18, 1955 2,733,796 McMillan et al. Feb. 7, 1956 2,787,920 Blaha Apr. 9, 1957 2,808,739 Mueller Oct. 8, 1957 FOREIGN PATENT S 643,863 Great Britain Sept. 27, 1950 

